System for marking a coated ophthalmic lens

Abstract

A system for marking a coated optical article ( 10 ) having at least one first mark ( 18 ) on a surface of a substrate ( 20 ) of the coated optical article ( 10 ) includes at least one mark ( 18 ) identification device having at least one electromagnetic radiation source ( 111 ) configured to irradiate at least a portion of the surface of the substrate ( 20 ) having the at least one first mark ( 18 ) with electromagnetic radiation ( 119 A, 123 ). The at least one mark ( 18 ) identification device further includes at least one imaging device configured to receive a portion of the electromagnetic radiation ( 119 A, 123 ) reflected from the surface of the substrate ( 20 ) having the least one first mark ( 18 ) and determine a position of the at least one first mark ( 18 ) on the surface of the substrate ( 20 ). The system further includes at least one marking device configured for marking the coated optical article ( 10 ) with at least one second mark ( 180 ) based on the position of the at least one first mark ( 18 ).

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for marking a coated optical article having at least one first mark on a surface of a substrate of the coated optical article, the system comprising:
 at least one mark identification device comprising:   at least one electromagnetic radiation source configured to irradiate at least a portion of the surface of the substrate having the at least one first mark with electromagnetic radiation; and   at least one imaging device configured to receive a portion of the electromagnetic radiation reflected from the surface of the substrate having the at least one first mark and determine a position of the at least one first mark on the surface of the substrate; and   at least one marking device configured for marking the coated optical article with at least one second mark based on the position of the at least one first mark.   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one electromagnetic radiation source is a laser having a wavelength in a range of 190 nm to 10,000 nm. 
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one imaging device comprises a viewing surface configured for receiving the portion of the electromagnetic radiation reflected from the surface of the substrate and a camera configured for imaging the viewing surface. 
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one mark identification device further comprises at least one source manipulation device configured for controlling a position of the at least one electromagnetic radiation source relative to the coated optical article. 
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one marking device is configured to mark at least one coating layer of the coated optical article with the at least one second mark. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one imaging device comprises a camera and a mask having at least one opening, the mask being positioned between the camera and the coated optical article. 
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one mark identification device further comprises at least one beam manipulation device configured for controlling at least one characteristic of the electromagnetic radiation. 
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 7 , wherein the at least one beam manipulation device comprises at least one of a beam expander, a collimating lens, a converging lens, a diverging lens, a spatial filter, a galvanometer, a servo, or a gimbal. 
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one second mark is an array of elements on at least one coating layer of the coated optical article. 
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 9 , wherein the at least one marking device is configured to adjust at least one of a size of each element in the array of elements, a depth of each element in the array of elements, or a density of the array of elements. 
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one marking device comprises an etching device and at least one mirror configured for reflecting a beam from the etching device onto the coated optical article. 
     
     
         12 . The system according to  claim 11 , wherein the etching device is a laser having a wavelength in a range of 190 nm to 30,000 nm. 
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 1 , further comprising a verification device configured for comparing the position of the at least one second mark relative to the position of the at least one first mark and determining whether the position of the at least one second mark is within a predetermined distance of the position of the at least one first mark. 
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 13 , wherein the verification device comprises a verification camera and a backlight source, and wherein the coated optical article is configured to be positioned between the verification camera and the backlight source. 
     
     
         15 . The system according to  claim 13 , wherein the verification device is further configured for guiding the at least one marking device such that the position of the at least one second mark at least partially overlaps the position of the at least one first mark. 
     
     
         16 . A method for marking a coated optical article having at least one first mark on a surface of a substrate of the coated optical article, the method comprising:
 irradiating at least a portion of the surface of the substrate having the at least one first mark with electromagnetic radiation using at least one electromagnetic radiation source;   determining a position of the at least one first mark on the surface of the substrate by receiving with at least one mark identification device a portion of the electromagnetic radiation reflected from the surface of the substrate having the at least one first mark; and   marking the coated optical article with at least one second mark having a position based on the position of the at least one first mark using at least one marking device.   
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16 , further comprising controlling at least one characteristic of the electromagnetic radiation using at least one beam manipulation device of the at least one mark identification device. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 16 , further comprising controlling a position of the at least one electromagnetic radiation source relative to the coated optical article using at least one source manipulation device of the at least one mark identification device. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 16 , wherein marking the coated optical article comprises etching the at least one second mark into at least one coating layer of the coated optical article using an etching device. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 16 , further comprising comparing the position of the at least one second mark relative to the position of the at least one first mark using a verification device and determining whether the position of the at least one second mark is within a predetermined distance of the position of the at least one first mark.